Automobile steering apparatus.



110,729,538. A .PATENTED JUNE 2, 1903.

H. H. BUFFUM.

AUTOMOBILE STEERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 1903.

no 1011212. A z SEBET.SSHEBT 1.

IIENQW wa'Zizessexsi- I A Q/merhn I PATBNTED JULIE 2, 1903..

H. H. BUFFUM. AUTOMOBILE STEERING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 2, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

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and wheels due to the springs.

U T STATES" Patented June 2, 1903.

" OFFI E.

HERBERT H. BUFFUM, or ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMOBILE STE,ER|NG APPARATUS.

SPEGIFIGATION formingpart ofLet te rs Patent no. 729,538, dated J'une 2,1903.

Application filed J'annaryZ IQLOB serial No. 13 7,4 2l. (No model-i Toall whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, HERBERTH. BUFFUM, of Abington, in the county ofPlymouth and State of Massachusetts, have inventedcerta'in new anduseful Improvements in Automobile Steering Apparatus, of which thefollowing is 1 a specification.

to enter and leave said seat easily. In the preferred construction foraccomplishing these objects I employ lower steering connectionscomprising a nut on the knuckle or journal of the guiding ground-wheel,a horizontal longitudinal shaft mounted in stationary bearings on thevehicle-body, and a. rotary screw engaged with said nut and havingauniversal connection with the said shaft to allow for the relativemovements of the body This horizontal shaft connects, through a pair ofbevelgears, with a-short inclined shaft mounted in fixed hearings in thevehicle-floor, and above said floor is a pivoted bearing, which carriesthe steering-pillar and permitsthe latter to swing toward and from thesteersinan into and out of alinement with the short inclined shaft. Suchswinging movement also throws into and out of engagement the members ofa toothed coupling carried, respectively, by the pillar and short shaft,which members when the shaft and pillar are in alinement properlyconnect the latter and transmit the movements of the pillar to theshaft, whereby the aforesaid screw is caused to rotate in its nut andturn the steering wheel or wheels. A foot-operated lever-catch holdsthesteeringpillar in its normal steering position. This arrangement hastheadvantage'thatthe pillar can be quickly thrown forward whenthe-steersman desires to enter or leave his seat and is then entirelyout of the way, and, furthermore, this operation can be performedwithout moving the steeringwheels, no matter what the position of thelatter. A further advantage of the mechanism is that the horizontallongitudinal shaft :proper working of such parts by 1 wear and strainthereon. Thisinvention relates to the steering mechanism ofmotor-vehicles; and its objects are to provide an improved distributionof strains and wear, so as to avoid looseuess and back-I1 lash in theworking parts, and also to permit the steering-pillar to be, thrownforward from Z the steersmans seat in order to enable him.

' the steering mechanism.

axle 11.

1 before mentioned has a thrust-bearing,which takes all the thrusttransmitted from the ground-wheels and removes it from the partsimmediately connected with the steering-pillar,thereby greatlyincreasing the life and reducing Of the accompanying drawings,=Figure 1represents a side elevation, partlyin section, showinga vehicle providedwith a steering mechanism constructed in accordance with my-invention.Fig. 2 represents a'section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.. Fig. 3 represents asection on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents an enlarged verticalsection of the main portion of Fig. 5 represents a plan view thereof.Fig. 6 represents a horizontal section just. below the vehicle-floor,showing the attachment of the thrust-bearing to one of the cross-sillsof the frame.

The same reference characters indicate the same partsin all the figures.

In the drawings, 10 is the vehicle-body, 11 is thedead front axlesupporting the body yieldinglythrough thesprings'1'2, and 13 13 are theguiding ground-wheels or steeringnals 14,comm0nlycalled knuckles, saidknuckles being pivoted at 15 to the dead- The usual arm 16 and link 17connect the wheels,- and an arm 18 is shown as extending inwardly .fromthe knuckle 14. On the'inner end of this arm a nut 19 is mounted by auniversal joint or connection 20.

21 is a horizontal shaft extending longitudinally underneath the floor22 of the vehicle-body and mounted in fixed bearings 23 24, the bearing23 being flanked by adjustable collars 25 25 on the shaft 21, which receive the end thrust of said shaft and are adapted to be adjusted totake up wear. At its front end the shaft 21 connects by a uni- .versaljoint or connection 26 with a rotary rod 27, formed with a screw-thread28 on its forward end which engages the complemental screw-thread of nut19, it beingevident thatwhen'shaft 21 is rotated it rotates rod 27 andcauses nut 19 to move along the thread 28, thereby swinging thesteeringknuckles 14 and wheels 13. The universal joints 26 and.20 allowthe rod 27 to change its angle according to the angle of the steer- LIIing-knuckle and the varying distance of the dead-axle 11 from the body10.

On the shaft 21 is a bevel-pinion 29, meshing with a bevel-gear 30,attached to the lower end of a backwardly-inclined short shaft 31, whichis mounted in an inclined bearing 32, attached to the vehicle-floor 22by plates 33 34 and bolts 35 35. The bearing 24 is shown as formed on abracket 36, attached by a collar 37 and nut 38 to the lower partofbearing 32, whereby bracket 36 may be adjusted longitudinally of saidhearing and wear of the gears 29 3O taken up. Pivoted at 39 to the plate33 is a bearing 40, supporting the steersmans pillar 41, having ahand-wheel or handle 42 at its upper end. The pillar has a conical ortapered projection 43 fitting in a complemental tapered socket 44 toinsure a proper alinement of the pillar 41 and short shaft 31 when thepillar is in the steering position. Fixed to the shaft 31 and pillar 41,respectively, are complemental coupling members 45 46, formed withinterengaginglapered teeth 47 47, which coupling members fit into eachother and form a secure coupling between the shaft and pillar when thetwo are alined, whereby the rotative movements of the pillar aretransmitted to the shaft. Above the bearing 40 is a collar 48, fixed onthe pillar 41, which together with the coupling member 46 preventslongitudinal movement of the pillar in said bearing.

49 is a foot-lever pivoted at 50 to the plate 33 and having an arm 51,formed with a head 52, adapted to take over a lug 53 when the shaft andpillar are alined, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby the bearing 40 is lockedin its normal position, holding the pillar 41 and shaft 31 in alinementand the coupling members 45 46 in full connection. The bearing 40 alsohas lugs 54, between which the neck of the arm 51 resides when the catchis engaged, and the lug 53 and head 52 are respectively beveled orrounded at 55 56 to enable the catch to snap into place when the pillaris brought into steering position. The lever 49 has an arm 57, elevatedby a spring 58, which normally throws the catch into engaging position,said arm being depressed by the operators foot when he wishes to releasethe steering-pillar.

It is evident that the pillar 41 may at any time be released by theoperators foot depressing the lever 49 and the steering-pillar thrownforward away from the vehicle-seat 59 to the position shown in Fig. 1,thereby leaving the space in front of said seat free. The couplingmembers 45 46 separate to permit such movement, and when the pillar isbrought back into steering position these members engage again and thepillar is antomatically locked by the catch-lever 49.

It will be seen that the shaft 21 has a support and thrust-bearing apartfrom the support and bearing of the steering-pillar 41 and shaft 31. Thesteering-pillar and its appurtenant parts are supported on the floor 22,as is the practice in many vehicles; but in prior art steering mechanismthus supported it has been usual to allow the floor to take the thrustand strain from the steering-wheels, the result being in practice thatthis floor will become loose unless it is very strongly braced andconstructed, which is not usually the case and which, moreover, involvesan expensive body construction. In the case of this invention the shaft21 may have its thrust-bearing on any convenient part of the body whichis suiiiciently rigid to withstand the thrust. In the present instance Ishow the bearing 23 as supported upon a cross-sill 60 of the body-frame,and thus it will be seen that the floor 22 is entirely relieved from thestrain caused by the end thrust of the steering connections. I regardthis feature as one of the important.- and valuable characteris' tics ofmy invention.

I claim 1. In a vehiclesteering mechanism, a fixed base, a shaftstationarily journaled thereon, steering devices operated by said shaft,a steersmans pillar, a bearing therefor pivoted to said base, and acoupling connecting said shaft and pillar and having provisions forpermitting a swinging movement of said pillar and bearing.

2. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a stationarily-journaled shaft,steering devices operated .thereby, a swinging bearing, a steersmanspillar mounted in said bearing, and a separable coupling connecting saidshaft and pillar.

3. In a vehicle steering mechanismya fixed base, a short shaft journaledthereon, steering devices operated by said shaft, an operators steeringpillar and handle, and provisions for connecting and disconnecting saidpillar and shaft close to the base.

4. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a stationarily-journaled shaft,steering devices operated thereby, a swinging steersmans pil: lar, and aseparable coupling connecting said shaft and pillar and comprisingcomplemental or mating crown-tooth coupling members attachedrespectively to said shaft and pillar.

5. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a fixed base, a short shaftjournaled thereon, steering devices operated by said shaft, an operatorssteering pillar and handle, provisions for connecting and disconnectingsaid pillar and shaft close to the base, and a foot-operated catch forholding, said pillar and shaft in connection.

6. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a stationarily-journaled shaft,steering devices operated thereby, a steersmans pillar movable into andout of line therewith, and a foot-operated catch for holding said pillarand shaft in line.

7. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a stationarily-journaled shaft,steering devices operated thereby, a swinging bearing, a steersmanspillar mounted in said bearing, a

separable coupling connecting said shaft and pillar, and means forlocking the members of said coupling against separation.

8. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a stationarilyjournaled shaft,steering devices operated thereby, a swinging bearing, a steersmanspillar mounted in said bearing, a separable coupling connecting saidshaft and pillar, and an automatically-engaging catch coacting with saidbearing for holding the members of said coupling against separation.

9. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a guiding ground-wheel, a pivotedarm connected to swing said wheel, a nut pivoted to said arm, a swingingscrew-rod having a threaded portion occupying said nut and a pivotalend, means connected with the pivotal end of said rod for resisting theend thrust transmitted through the rod from the ground-wheel, andsteersman-operated means for rotating said rod.

10. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a vehicle-body, a guidingground-wheel yieldingly connected with said body, a pivotal armconnected to swing said wheel, a nut having a universal connection withsaid arm,

a shaft having an end thrust bearing on the body, a screw-rod engagedwith said nut and having a universal connection with said shaft, andsteersman-operated' means for rotating said shaft.

11. 'In a vehicle steering mechanism, a vehicle -body, steersman-operated mechanism thereon, a guiding ground-wheel having a swingingjournal yieldingly connected with said body, a nut having a universalconnection with said journal, and a rotary screwrod engaged with saidnut and having a universal connection with said mechanism.

12. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a vesupported by saidfloor, andsteering connec-v tions operated by said pillar and having an end thrustbearing on the body apart from the support of said pillar.

13. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a vehicle-body having a framing anda floor, a steering-pillar supported by said floor, a rotary shaftgeared with said pillar and having an end thrust bearing on saidframing, and steering devices connected with said shaft.

14. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a swinging groundwheel, a swingingrotary steersmans pillar, and steering connections between said pillarand wheel including a coupling connected and disconnected by Swingingmovement of said pillar.

15. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a swinging ground-wheel, a swingingrotary steersmans pillar, steering mechanism stationarily mounted on thevehicle and connected with said wheel, and a coupling havingcomplemental toothed members attached to said pillar and mechanismrespectively and thrown into and out of mesh by swinging movement ofsaid pillar.

16. In a vehicle steering mechanism, a swinging groundwheel, a swingingrotary steersmans pillar, steering connections between said pillar andwheel including a coupling connected and disconnected by swingingmovement of said pillar, and means to lock the pillar in itscoupling-connecting position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

HERBERT H. BUFFUM.

Witnesses:

R. M. PIERSON, O. F. BROWN.

